Page 23 of Forever with the Mountain Man

I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest. “I could say the same to you.”

He leans forward, kissing my lips and whispering, “Because I do, and I’ve been telling you as much for weeks now. Je t’aime.”I love you.

I open my mouth to speak, but guilt stops my tongue. How can I choose between love and the career I’ve worked towards for years? Thankfully, he looks away, not pressuring me to respond. Perhaps this is the finest testament to his love of all.

“I should clean up in the bathroom,” I whisper as Fierce’s blue eyes regard me with a somber tenderness.

“Let me do that for you,” he says in a soft voice, transformed from a burly, beastly bringer of pleasure into a thoughtful, devoted lover. He returns with a washcloth moistened with warm water and carefully cleans me. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He eyes me with concern.

“I’m not going to lie. You’re big for me,” I confess. “But a big I can get used to.”

He chuckles, throwing the washcloth on top of the dirty clothes hamper, before climbing onto the bed next to me and pulling me into his steel-strong arms, the big spoon to my little. “Good, because I’m the only dick you get from now on. So get used to taking me, all of me.”

“You sure are possessive,” I say, a little annoyed by his over-the-top declarations.

“And I hope you’ll be as possessive of me.” His chest rumbles against my back as he speaks in tender tones. “It is love speaking, nothing else.” Every speck of annoyance vanishes with his words, and I snuggle back against his hard frame.

After a long pause, he says, “That towel move was the sexiest fucking thing I’ve seen in my entire life. I’ll never forget it.” Nuzzling and kissing my neck, he adds, “I’ll do whatever I must to keep you. Even if it means kidnapping you.”

“Fierce!” I exclaim, raising my head to look over my shoulder at him as he wraps me tightly in his arms. The feel of his warm flesh on mine is heavenly. I could lie here forever, yet my mind wobbles and sputters, trying to claim a last modicum of independence. “You can’t talk like that. I’m a modern woman in control of myself and my destiny.”

“What did you expect when you signed up for Mountain Mates? A civilized guy? Besides, by the time I’m done learning your body and all the many ways of pleasing you, you’ll want tokidnap me back.” Stroking my hair, he wraps his leg possessively over my hip and leg. We’re both still too hot for the blankets beneath us.

“I already do.”

“See,” he says in dark, dangerous tones, kissing the shell of my ear and tracing his tongue over it before sucking my earlobe into his mouth. The move twists my lower core, and I’m ready to jump him again as his cock grows rock-hard against my hip. He whispers against my ear, “I have a confession.”

“Shouldn’t you save that for your priest?” I ask sassily, and he kisses my neck with mock ferocity, growling against my ear.

“I’m in shock, like serious shock, about how readily my family accepted you today. Especially my parents. I must admit, it feels too easy, and it’s got me on edge like the other shoe’s about to drop.”

I shrug, “All parents want their children to be happy when it comes down to it.”

“All American parents. It’s not like that in my family. It has never been, especially for me, the eldest. Do you think I would be a sheepherder if it weren’t for family pressure? I had no other career options. It was decided before I was born.” His voice has a bitterness at the end.

“And if you could do anything you want, what would it be?” I ask.

He sighs. “A cheesemaker. I know it sounds silly to an American, but I’m quite good at it. I’ll have you sample some sheep’s milk cheese later, which recently finished aging. It is good enough for gourmet restaurants and shops. Everyone agrees.”

“I don’t think there’s anything silly about that career choice at all. Not after living in France.”

He snuggles closer to me, burying his face in my hair. “And would you be the wife of a cheesemaker?”

Give this man an inch, and he’ll take a mile. “You realize we’re still technically on what would be considered our first date, right? Talk of marriage is kinda frowned on this early in the game.”

“You haven’t answered my question. If it makes you feel better, assume I mean it in a general sense.”

“Well, then I can answer without hesitation,” I flirt, turning my head towards him, my lips inches from his. “One hundred percent, wholeheartedly, yes. I love cheese, so why not love the cheesemaker, too?”

He grins. “Really? Are you being serious?”

“Of course,” I laugh, my cheeks flushing. “Is it any weirder than marrying a shepherd in this day and age? In the United States, to boot?”

“Next thing I know, you’ll have a ring on my finger. Are you trying to trap me, ma luciole?” he teases.

“I already told you. I’m ready to kidnap you.”

“Good,” he grumbles in rich tones, feathering his fingertips over my neck, décolletage, and breasts until I shiver.

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